Lost Cause for Him
by Queen-of-Ice101
Summary: A meeting of gazes, an understanding between people, and the first touches of something more beginning to bloom. Sometimes it's not the excitement and action of an earth shattering revelation that reveals for the first time what is hidden in ones heart, but rather the simplicities and soft touches between caring friends in ones day to day life.


Hello all!

This was written for a friend of mines birthday, Honeybutter Chloe, to provide more fluff for her favourite pairing and she encouraged me to post it here so I figured what the heck I might as well share^^

I hope you all enjoy!

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 **Lost Cause for Him**

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Tomoe let out a long exhausted and relieved breath as she watched nurses wheeling their patient out of the surgery room, the doors swinging shut behind them and blocking her sight. She glanced around tiredly at the other surgeons, eyes drifting before coming to rest for a moment on a tall black haired male that was wiping his forehead. As if sensing her gaze he glanced up, red eyes meeting hers and he inclined his head in acknowledgement. Instantly she looked away, feeling more heat flooding her already exertion reddened cheeks.

Quickly she busied herself with cleaning up her tools and getting them ready to be through the disinfectant machines, after this she would finally be able to get some food and relax for a bit before her next scheduled patient.

"Alright, you know the drill. Hands out." Barked a harsh voice, Tomoe jumping and spinning to see a guard standing over the exausted surgeon she had just been watching with a set of metal cuffs.

Erhard grimaced, slowly raising his arms to the guard for the cuffs to be attached. As his coat shifted up higher a flash of red caught Tomoe's eye and she looked over quickly, eyes widening as she caught sight of the rubbed raw skin encircling each of his slender wrists.

"Stop!"

The sudden shout was enough to startle everyone, the guard halting his movements and half turning to see what was going on. He most likely was expecting to see a reprimand to one of the assistants, however by the look on his face he most certainly was not expecting to see the young woman in surgical gear and a kimono to be striding towards him with all the righteous fury of a doctor who had just taken sight of one of her own being harmed.

"What do you-"

Sliding in between the guard and Erhard, causing the guard to step back instinctively in surprise the usually mild mannered woman drew herself up to her not so impressive height with arms crossed firmly over her chest.

"This man has been working for over twelve hours and he is exhausted. We still need to clean up, none of us have eaten or rested, and look at his wrists! You should be ashamed of yourself, locking up a man who saves countless lives like this." The look on the guards face seemed torn between irritation and amusement, Tomoe ignoring him as she half turned to glance at Erhard. "Take those cuffs elsewhere, we still need his help and he'll be useless without proper mobility."

To be honest Tomoe wasn't entirely sure what she was thinking, this was routine an how things were done. As soon as the surgery was finished the cuffs came out and Erhard was led from the room. Yet for some reason today it deeply bothered her. They had been moments from losing their patient, had it not been for Erhard they would have. She had since learned that thanks meant nothing to him so she wouldn't push those on him, but this was the next best thing she could think of.

"Miss, I'm afraid that you don't have the proper jurisdiction to order us to leave CR-S01 uncuffed and free to move."

"This is my surgery room and I have taken an oath to heal and protect all those under my authority, patients and fellow surgeons alike. Go sit down and let us do our job." Tomoe said quietly, watching as the guard seemed to weigh his options before sighing and rolling his eyes.

"Authority just goes to some peoples head like a balloon I swear." He muttered, walking away.

She let out a soft sigh of relief, slumping slightly before turning to Erhard.

"I apologize for interfering. Just let me grab some supplies and I'll take care of your wrists."

Erhard shook his head, moving to stand.

"My wrists are fine, I can help get the tools ready for sterilization."

Before he could move any further Tomoe reached out, resting a hand on his shoulder and halting his movements.

"I'll be quick." She assured him worriedly. "I just can't leave your wrists like that…."

There was hesitation, before he slowly sat once more on the stool.

"Alright."

Quickly Tomoe gathered some disinfectant supplies and soft bandages, moving to set them on the steel table next to him before gently reaching over and pulling his arm out. Her touch was delicate as she pushed his sleeve up out of the way, taking a cloth wet with disinfectant and gently swiping it over the raw and marked up areas of his wrist. He hissed out a breath at the cold sting, Tomoe murmuring apology as she softly cleaned around the area.

"Sorry, almost done."

She could feel eyes on her, watching her every movements as she ever so gently wrapped the chafed and raw skin to protect it. It made her skin warm as she felt his gaze drift between following her actions and just watching her face.

"Uh, this should keep the handcuffs from continuing to chafe as you heal. Once your wrists are back to normal I can help you find something to pad the inside of your wrists under the cuffs to prevent harm if you like?" She offered nervously, glancing up shyly before quickly finishing off the bandage and stepping back.

Erhard said nothing, making her nerves intensify as she cleaned up the supplies. Had she perhaps crossed a line she wasn't aware of?

Then she heard the sound of someone moving behind her before a warm hand settled gently on her arm. Tomoe couldn't help but jump, turning with a surprised look to find herself mere inches from Erhard who had somehow risen to his feet without her notice and was now standing behind her.

"I would appreciate your assistance in that. If it's as useful as what you just made for me I'm sure it will do the job perfectly." He said simply, his tenor voice smooth and calm.

Tomoe's eyes widened, a squeak unintentionally escaping her. Erhard smiled ever so slightly, hand gently smoothing down the arm of her coat before dropping back to his side as he dipped his head to her and strode over to the tools to clean.

Her mouth opened slightly in shock, no words escaping her as she stared after the retreating back of the black haired surgeon. Tomoe's hand drifted to her arm, where she could still feel the warmth through her coat from his touch and she ducked her head to hide the rosy blush. A soft smile rose unbidden to her lips as she thought about what had just taken place, allowing herself a tiny giggle before going serious and moving to join her coworkers in cleaning up so they could leave.

It was official, she was a lost cause for Erhard Muller

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 _I hope you all found this to be a fun read and liked my version of the character portrayal. I'd like to add as a side note that I have actually never played any of the Trauma Centre games or watched any play throughs. This characterization is based upon the wiki articles for these two characters instead:D_


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